Josh Sterk a key addition for Oshawa Generals this season

Clutch goals help stake team to 3-0 playoff lead on Mississauga Steelheads

Generals vs. Steelheads

Ryan Pfeiffer / Metroland

OSHAWA -- Oshawa Generals Josh Sterk celebrated his third-period goal against the Mississauga Steelheads in game two of their Ontario Hockey League first round playoff series at the General Motors Centre. The Gens beat the Steelheads 3-2 in overtime to take a 2-0 series lead. March 23, 2014.

OSHAWA -- It seemed like a relatively minor deal at the time, but the acquisition of Josh Sterk in September was one of the most important master strokes from Oshawa Generals GM Jeff Twohey this season.

Sterk, picked up from Kitchener to add some depth and insurance against the possibility of losing Scott Laughton to the NHL, cost Twohey only conditional fourth- and a sixth-round draft picks.

In the midst of a terrific playoff and following a breakthrough regular season, the 19-year-old Georgetown native admits he was plenty motivated by the trade.

“I guess it was kind of a slap in the face. I didn’t really get traded for anyone in that deal, but I wanted to come to Oshawa with a fresh start,” Sterk said Sunday, shortly after setting up Cole Cassels for an overtime winning goal. “I’ve had my opportunity and did well in the regular season, but I’m not going to stop now. I want to keep working for this team. I think we have a really good chance of going far in these playoffs, and there’s no one else I’d rather do it with than this group.”

Sterk has been instrumental in staking the Generals to a 3-0 series lead on the Mississauga Steelheads in the OHL Eastern Conference quarter-finals. He scored twice on the power play in a 6-0 romp in the opener, had the tying goal in a 3-2 overtime win in Game 2, and ended Tuesday’s 6-5 double overtime marathon in Mississauga with the winning goal.

“He’s got high-end skill. On any night when you’re down, he’s a threat to score, and certainly on the power play,” Generals coach D.J. Smith said of Sterk, who has three power-play tallies so far. “He’s a streaky guy and when he’s scoring, he can score. Sometimes it’s risky going five forwards on the power play, but when they’re taking away (Michael) Dal Colle and Laughton, you have to have other guys out there who are able to score.”

Sterk was certainly streaking in the right direction at the start of the season, with a goal and two assists in his first game as a General and 14 points in his first six games.

But, while he eventually settled on career-high 20-34-54 stats in 66 games, Sterk’s biggest contribution may have been helping to spread out the talent once Laughton was returned by the Philadelphia Flyers.

That the Generals can throw out three dangerous lines now is also a tribute to Twohey having acquired Hunter Smith last season and Dylan Smoskowitz at this year’s deadline. The only player who went the other way in the three deals combined was Emerson Clark, who has since graduated from the league.

Through Tuesday’s games, Smith led all playoff scorers with nine points, while Sterk had five and Smoskowitz two, both coming in the Game 3 win in his old Hershey Centre haunts.

Twohey also gave up nothing in signing overage defenceman Alex Lepkowski at the trade deadline, another key element to the team’s success of late.

The Generals will look to complete a first-round sweep of Mississauga Thursday night in Mississauga. If a fifth game is needed, it would be 7:35 p.m. Friday at the GM Centre.

Visit durhamregion.com to listen the playoff games live and for ongoing coverage of the Generals.